Our 2023-2024 Impact Report is here!
Click the link below to read the full report and see the incredible impact of Pilot Light’s Food Education programs in classrooms across the country.
Since 2010, Pilot Light has been impacting students, teachers, and families in the city of Chicago and nationwide:
Over the past 15 years, we’ve reached…
24,640+ students have engaged in Pilot Light Food Education lessons
530+ teachers have received Pilot Light professional development and training
24 states across the country through our various programs
…and we’re not done growing!
Students:
Through Pilot Light, students are learning through food in Reading, Writing, Math, Science, and beyond:
“My favorite part of the school year has been cooking and trying different foods. It has been so fun and is something we did together as a class like a big family.”
– 3rd grade Food Education Fellowship Student
“When we amplify our own food choices and prioritize the voices of young people, we empower them to shape a more equitable food future that truly belongs to them.”
– Pilot Light Contributing Educator
“I think Food Education is very important. It teaches teens to eat healthy and make good choices. It made me realize I can grow my own food and have fun doing it too!”
– 2022-23 High School Pilot Light Student
Food Education happens both inside and outside of the classroom! Our resources are made to be adaptable for all teachers PreK-12 and for both in-person and virtual learning experiences…
In 2024, we began updating our Food Education Center, a 100% free online lesson plan library for teachers and families. This updated included:
33 classic teacher-authored Pilot Light lessons updated,
98 NEW Classroom and Family lessons, and
more updates for the 1.6K accounts registered to the center!
Through Pilot Light, food connects us to each other and provides teachers and students with a developmentally appropriate structure to facilitate self and social awareness:
“By centering student voices, I can create a space where they feel empowered to share their own food experiences and advocate for healthier, more equitable food systems. Additionally, I can model and teach the use of inclusive language when discussing food, reinforcing that Food Education is not just about nutrition, but also about respect, fairness, and social responsibility.”
-Pilot Light Contributing Educator
Pilot Light helps improve student engagement with Food Education lessons and during regular academic instruction:
“I know my students were engaged when they would asked ahead of time the lessons of the week. The students’ smiles and conversations became a permanent fixture throughout the year. The students actively held conversations with students, teachers, family and friends inside and outside of our class about their Pilot Light experiences. Last, this class was chosen as the school’s favorite class as students enrolled in high numbers for next school term.”
–Pilot Light Fellow Nikita L.
Pilot Light helps promote student confidence and offers a pathway of connection across academic subjects and real-world knowledge:
“This program is a great tool to integrate food knowledge into the classroom. Students need to have information on good fruits and vegetables because they might not always get that at home.”
– SnackTime Explorers Teacher
Teachers:
After participation in the Pilot Light Food Education Fellowship in 2023-24, teachers saw significant changes to their teaching practice and classroom culture:
91.7% of Fellows agreed that the Fellowship gave them confidence in connecting with school and community partners through Food Education
75% of teachers strongly agreed that the Fellowship helped them understand the food issues that their students/school community face (a 47% increase from the beginning of the school year)
100% of teachers agreed by the end of the year that their students had the skills to make informed food choices daily (a 68% increase from the beginning of the year).
Our Food Education professional development programs invest in teacher leadership and creativity. At Pilot Light, we are deeply committed to investing in teachers as the leaders of the Food Education movement in their schools and communities:
“This experience has taught me how to take that inherent motivation and turn it into a lesson about culture, cooking, geography, farming, and [advocacy]…The Food Education Standards provide a guide for teachers (and proof to the administration that our ideas are sound)!
– 2024 Contributing Teacher
“I was able to accomplish what I hoped for, which was students seeing food as a “connector of souls.” With each lesson, students brought in, prepared food, and ate it during lunch with their classmates. That way, we all got a chance to see how the standards were implemented. It provided a community of engaged food learners.”
– 2024 Classroom to Cafeteria Educator
“This program far exceeded my expectations. To see my students very excited to learn more, asking me for more time with the lessons, and talking about food with new food vocabulary has been a teacher’s dream for sure.”
–Classroom to Cafeteria Educator
Learn more about our Teacher and School Partners
Communities:
Students bring their Food Education knowledge and skills into their homes and communities:
“The students have been replicating the recipes at home. Each time the students replicate the recipes, the parents and family are the critics. (But in a positive way.) Some families have shared that students are asking to go with their parent to the Farmers Markets, as well as the grocery store. They are volunteering in preparing the meals.”
–Pilot Light Fellow
“Students have felt proud to kickstart the composting and recycling programs at our school again. They are going home and talking about the importance of recycling to their families, and I recently had some parents ask for more details about how to vermicompost at parent-teacher conferences.”
–Pilot Light Fellow